Florida's construction industry lost half its employment during the recession and housing crisis. As projects were stalled, many construction workers and specialty trades workers left to work in the oil industry, return to their native country or just left the business, industry observers say.

Fort Lauderdale-based Moss Construction doesn't currently have a shortage of specialty workers, but "it's concerning, for sure," said Bob Moss, president.

"We have projects getting started that are clearly going to drive demand," said Moss, whose firm is building a hotel in Palm Beach County and two condominiums in the Miami area. Crane and other equipment operators will especially be needed for new construction, he said.

In Florida, 73 percent of construction firms said they were having trouble finding craft workers, in a recent survey by trade group Associated General Contractors. With some firms picking more than one category, forty-seven percent said they were seeing a shortage of carpenters, 40 percent, laborers and 27 percent, cement masons. Sixty percent of the firms expect the difficulty finding qualified construction workers will worsen over the next 12 months.

The Weitz Co. is managing one of the biggest construction projects around: the new 22-story Broward County courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. As a federal project, the pay is especially good, so the project manager hasn't had any trouble hiring construction workers.

Still, "there's a shortage of masons right now to lay concrete block," said Tori, senior vice president at th firm.

Truly Burton, president of the Florida Atlantic Building Association, said the association is working with concrete companies such as Cemex and Maschmeyer to organize apprentice programs to train more masons through vocational centers and high schools.

"There is a move at the state level among all concrete companies," Burton said.

A growing shortage and rising cost of building materials could ultimately affect whether some projects get off the ground.

Rick Derrer, chief executive of general contractor James A. Cummings in Fort Lauderdale, said there's even more uncertainty expected during the next two years. He points to a parking garage project in Broward County that won't be constructed until at least 2015: quotes for material and labor have already risen.

"We're getting quotes from subcontractors that are only good for three days because prices are going up," he said.

The rapid fluctuations can result in some projects being killed or scaled back.

A burst of thunderstorm activity across the Chicago-area in mid-afternoon Sunday resulted in multiple injuries and a death at an event in west suburban Wood Dale, the collapse of a dome in northwest suburban Rosemont and the temporary evacuation of the music festival Lollapalooza in Grant Park...

Now there are two: Zimbabwe accused a Pennsylvania doctor on Sunday of illegally killing a lion in April, adding to the outcry over a Minnesota dentist the African government wants to extradite for killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July.

Donald Trump, widely believed to the be the wealthiest American ever to run for president, is nowhere among the ranks of the country's most generous citizens, according to an Associated Press review of his financial records and other government filings.